Fire Safety, Your Responsibilities

Fire safety in the workplace is an important procedure that needs to be conducted properly so that your building and employees are as safe as possible at all times. Knowing who is responsible and what steps must be followed however can be difficult to know and can cast doubt over who the responsibility of fire safety lies with.

Who is responsible?

If you are an employer, the owner, landlord or occupier, you are responsible for fire safety of that building and are known as the ‘responsible person’. If there is more than one responsible person, you must work as a team in order to fulfil your fire safety responsibilities.

What are my duties as the responsible person?

So, you have determined who is the responsible person within your business who must oversee fire safety but, what do your responsibilities involve? As the individual in charge of ensuring your building is safe, your duties include: carrying out a fire risk assessment, inform staff about any fire risks that you have identified, put in place and maintain any fire safety measures, plan for an emergency and provide staff training.

Although this can sound daunting and like there is lots to do, once you have an adequate fire safety plan in place, it is simply a case of adhering to your procedure and doing regular checks to ensure additional fire hazards have not appeared. Steps such as keeping all fire exits clear and checking that the fire alarm works are responsibilities that only take a few minutes to conduct and can make the difference between a fire hazard and a safe environment.

Spotting hazards

Knowing how to spot hazards in the work place is also part of your duty as a responsible person. This of course will be different in varying work places as what may pose as a potential threat in an office will be completely different compared to a factory. For example, looking out for lots of wires and electrical equipment in an office is something to be weary of whereas in a factory you may need to look out for flammable substances.

Training staff

Part of your fire safety duties also include training staff. Using fire safety DVD’s for this is a great way to teach groups of employees at once so that you don’t have to pay for external training making it a time and cost effective training method. Putting posters in communal areas of your building also helps to keep fire safety at the forefront of peoples minds when working.

Fire safety of course not only applies to businesses. Fire safety in non-domestic premises must also be upheld with these including all workplaces and commercial premises, any building that the public has access to and common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings. Making sure the same steps are followed for non-domestic premises is just as important as it would be for any other building.

Following the correct fire safety procedures in all buildings means that the risk of a fire starting and spreading is greatly reduced. Saving money and reducing the risk of damage to property and to peoples lives means that you have the peace of mind that all fire safety steps have been followed up and that thankfully, a fire is unlikely.